At Arsenal, Lacazette has been winning the battle with six starts and one substitute appearance in comparison to zero starts and seven substitute appearances for Giroud in the Premier League.

But on the international scene Giroud remains the preferred choice and as such started last night’s crucial World Cup qualifier between France and Belarus.

Giroud with fellow goalscorer Antoine Griezmann (Getty)

With Lacazette warming the bench at the Stade de France, Giroud showed why he can be trusted with a scrambled goal that effectively proved the winner in a 2-1 victory for Les Bleus. It was a result that saw France top their group and qualify for next summer’s World Cup.

Lacazette was an unused substitute against Belarus while Kylian Mbappe came off the bench (Getty)

Giroud v Lacazette

Olivier Giroud Name Alexandre Lacazette

0 Starts 6

7 Sub appearances 1

133 Minutes 491

1 Goals 4

* Premier League only

France manager Didier Dechamps clearly has much faith in Giroud, with even teenage prodigy Kylian Mbappe forced out of the starting XI to make way for the Arsenal striker.

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Giroud will be hoping Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger can show similar trust as he seeks his first Premier League start of the season.